You were in my thoughts alot this week, Mom.

This past week, I celebrated my 59th birthday. I was lucky enough to spend it with a very special friend, Annie Wiehe. I have written about Annie and her dear husband, Roger who passed away earlier this year. We go back a long ways. Annie invited me up to Andover and I happily agreed. She had asked me what I would like to do and I said I would like to go to Cape Cod because I had never been there and had always wanted to go.

We decided to leave on Wednesday which just happened to be my special day. We left about 10am and made good time. The weather was beautiful and Annie and I were both excited. As we crossed the Sagamore Bridge and onto the Cape, you could smell the wonderful sea air and I remembered past birthdays I had shared with my Mom. We use to love to go to the beach for my birthday since it fell after Labor Day. Usually, there were very few people and it wasn't as expensive. It was the same for Annie and I. There were three things I wanted to do: walk on shore, visit the wildlife sancuary at Wellfleet, and see the sand dunes. Of course, I also wanted to enjoy some fresh seafood. Naturally, I brought my camera. I had hoped to get a sunrise or a sunset picture as well as some birds. I didn't manage a sunrise but I think I got everything else. I'll know better tomorrow when I see my pictures.

As I watched Annie enjoy the day, I thought about my Mom and how she would have loved this trip. I also thought of Roger who was a joy to have on any adventure. I could feel their presense with us in the car and when we went to dinner. It is just the type of restaurant they both would have liked: The Bookstore and Restaurant. The only problem is that we would never have gotten Mom out of the Bookstore.

It was a great week with a very special friend who is positively wicked at Scrabble but what fun. I think I can deal with being 59 now.